As soon as we got to the Monterey area we headed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium which is one of the finest in the country, especially as a lot of the wildlife is just romping and playing in the bay outside the windows. The aquarium is just to the left in this picture in one of the old canneries on Cannery Row that John Steinbeck made famous in his book. More of the old canneries stretch in the distance in the photo ... now tourist themed restaurants and other places to take your money.

Here is their huge kelp tank that opens onto the bay and the kelp sways with the ocean current ... really awesome.

And one of the best jellyfish displays I have ever seen.

We hope everybody has been having as good a holiday season as we have had! We stayed in Placerville until the 27th of December and have now moved to near Monterey. Here's Bill and Dee and us at our last dinner in Placerville. I'm not sure why Bill and Bruce are not too cheery here as the meal was first rate ... maybe because the wine glasses are empty ...



And in continuing the wine theme from this very winey region, I couldn't resist a Christmas tree made entirely of wine bottles.

Happy Holidays From California!

Bruce, Jo-Anne, Bandit, and of course, Buster wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone is having a super holiday time as you battle the throngs of shoppers to bring cheer to all!

A little about the town of Placerville near where we are parked with the goats and chickens. Because of the gold which was found near here in 1848, Placerville became so prosperous and lawless that lawbreakers were hanged from a tree on main street first singly, then in pairs. As a result the settlement was named Hangtown and the storefront here supposedly has the trunk of the infamous tree. Not sure when the name reverted back to Placerville to reflect the placer form of gold panning ... but the chamber of commerce probably thought it better than Hangtown.

One of the famous sons, is John Studebaker, who made enough money in the 1850s to move east and establish the factory where the first Studebaker automobiles were produced.

Here's another shot of the main street which has many shops, restaurants, and boutiques geared to the tourist trade. The tower in center is a historical fire warning bell tower. The town of 10,000 is popular as a stop as you go up the mountain on the way to Tahoe, where, over the last few days they have gotten at least two feet of snow.

This is Sweetie Pies, our favorite restaurant on the main street. Obviously the specialties are pies, but the breakfast menu, served till 1 PM is equally awesome with a spinach and cheese scramble with country spuds.

As it is the 17th and we can't book longer near Placerville, we are looking at what to do in the new year and we will probably leave here on the 27th and head for Monterey for the next stage of the Adventure. We've looked at some promising parks near there and will stay somewhere in the vicinity until the new year and then head for Tucson which will be our next extended stop.

About 52 and misty rain on and off today. Tomorrow is to be 30 MPH winds and 46 and rain all day ... yuck.

The electric fireplace had ceased to function, but with a little solder on the circuit board we have fire again ... nice on a cool and rainy day.

You will probably notice an animal theme for the next couple of pictures ... maybe as a result of all the wine tasting ... not sure. I will apologize for the last week as we have been busy with some good weather and following brother Bill on the winery runs. His business requires the contunual visits to the vinyards and contact with the owners. His customers are basically farmers selling their crop and storing some with him and they are some of the nicest folks we have met.

One of our favorite stops is the Fenton Herriott vinyard a couple of miles south of Placerville. While tasting some excellent Zins and Petit Syrahs, Jake the black lab, a male, found another similar creature, except female, outside the window where we were tasting. For the next 20 minutes in the yard Jake and the unnamed female enjoyed intense amorous delight while we watched and continued from good zins to a rather nice port and cheered them on. Here's Dee and Chrissy, one of the vinyard owners, sponging the poor boy to cool him off after his apparently intense ordeal ... I mean, he literally had to be carried in from the yard ... poor but happy guy.

And finally continuing on the animal theme here's Buster nose to nose with a rooster. KOAs by law, I think, must have a host of animals like ducks, donkeys, goats, and chickens ... the kid aspect. This rooster wasn't the least bit afraid of Buster and actually ran toward the enclosure and pecked him on the nose. In spite of that Buster didn't budge either and if the fence wasn't there, it would have been a pretty good fight ... but Butster most likely would have lost. Don't know for sure but I know places in Texas where a lot of money would have ben bet on the outcome ...

What a difference from yesterday down toward Placerville. Yesterday, I was working in shirtsleeves and today we went up to to the snow in Lake Tahoe. Here's Jo ready to whack me with a snowball. Just not a really pretty day but here is the waterfront at Lake Tahoe today. Barely in the distance on the lower right shore you can make out the large casinos.

A pretty scene on the way home...it's winter here!

Lake Tahoe in the far distance with the city airport as the snowy strip in the dead center ... don't want to fly in here this time of year!

On Tuesday, I helped brother Bill move one load of wine from his old warehouse to his new one, the new home of El Dorado County Wine Storage. Here is Bill unloading one of the 2,000 pound pallets from the truck. We had 8 on the truck or 16,000 pounds of wine.

And here's Bruce pretending to be of any help whatsoever. As a part of the business, Bill does this every day, moving tons of wine to and from the various vinyards in El Dorado County.

Feeling faint after one load, I opted to go back to the RV park and move the Flying Scotsman from one site to another to see if we could get TV reception.

A quickie about the RV park life. We would have liked to book a place for a running 30 days as we have in other parks, but this one is different. First the price is high. These guys get $41 a day or $650 a month, almost twice what we were paying in Washington or Oregon, for half the amenities. This KOA only has 4 sites that the county allows to be for monthly rental (taxes and stuff). I mean it’s all mud and grass, so what the heck is the diff. The only site that we could have used on a monthly basis was further down in the trees and with our satellite TV system that’s a no-no. At the owner’s insistence, we actually unhooked the bus from its present position, moved down into the woods to give the TV a try and after an hour of trying to make Dishnet perform, gave up. We then moved back to our original site which is a weekly rental site. Rules. So now we have booked for a couple more weeks at our present site, which will take us up to the 27th of December when we must move from this site. The difference here is like now we are in FARM country and the place last month in McMinnville or even on Whidbey Island was like the Hilton.

We did scout out several other RV parks in the area and none could come close to the amenities we were spoiled with in the McMinnville park. All of these are similar with gravel sites (read mud) uneven parking, and older facilities. Within a 30 mile radius of Placerville there wasn't one that was worth trading for the one here, so we will try to stay put if the manager can get us into a monthly slot ... if not we'll be forced to go elsewhere in a week or so. But back to the serious stuff ...

So much wine and so little time!!

Actually, for the next segment of the Great Adventure, my Brother Bill and his wife Dee are our hosts and this is their wine storage warehouse in El Dorado County, near Placerville. As Bill says, here is a football field of wine; a full 300 feet of it, 40,000 cases+/- a few, and a whole pile of barrels all living in climate controlled comfort. Let's see ... 40,000 cases divided by 365 days a year ... at least a couple of years to drink it I'd say.

And after another fine (rain free) day, the California sun sets over the vines on Sunday, where we finished up tasting some good local vintners' products.

Well, due to the weather and dead camera batteries and whatever other excuse I have, this post won't have any pictures.

We left McMinnville and headed for I-5 in the rain. That night we stayed at a place called Jacks RV park in Grants Pass, OR. Really nice park with all the amenities and paved streets and level sites ... all good to have. It was a bit close to the interstate, but nice otherwise. It was even a short walk to a couple of restaurants.

The next day was a constant drizzle which changed to snow flurries in the passes between Oregon and California. The Flying Scotsman performed well up to the highest point which was about 4500 feet and then down again. Got about 6 miles per gallon but I think that's pretty good for the big beast. We went by Mount Shasta, but all we saw was fog, drizzle, and snow flurries for the whole day. As we came out of the mist, we saw Lake Shasta which is at a 15 year low and looked to us as almost dry ... really wierd.

We picked Corning, California to stay last night and we hooked up in a small, but limited park in the town. These sites are still averaging about $28 a night and all so far have had a good computer hookup. We broke ground this morning in the rain and 45 degrees, but that cleared off and we actually had sunny weather the rest of the way here. We are now in the KOA in Shingle Springs, CA, about 9 miles west of Placerville. Like most KOAs it is a mud pile due to the recent rains ... but there are goats ... I guess that makes up for the mud, eh.

Tomorrow we will hook up with my brother Bill and also go out and scout some different parks to spend the balance of December ... I don't think this one is it ... someone here must have some paving material to share.

Wow.

OK, tomorrow we are off to California on the next leg of the Great Adventure. We have delayed here because of the minor interference of 50 MPH winds and torrential rain and snow and sleet ... and whatever. But for those of you that know us, we are having a super time in spite of whatever nature can do. Here's snow flurries on the Flying Scotsman.

We are getting ready for Christmas, the chili lites are in place, and you can see Buster actually helping with the decorations on the tree.



It was so cool that Richard and Wanda could come down to Oregon. We had spent a bunch of time with them and then they decided to come down to McMinnville to redo the fun we had on Whidbey Island.

Oh man, is this house really going to move again, we can't take it ....

And the last for today is with the Tillemas at a really neat Spanish influenced place on the main drag of McMinnville. This ranks in the top ten of the best meals we have had.

Well, happy December from the Gunns and the Flying Scotsman!

A really neat thing happenend as the Gardners of Whidbey Island came down the coast to McMinnville to see us and the Tillemas and see some of the Oregon wine area we are living in.

We have had a really challenging time with the 38 degree rain, it is truely nasty, but in many ways the weather and scenery really remind us of Germany ... yeah I know all the the pictures are of clear blue skies ... my secret, eh.

When this crap breaks we will have some more pics to share. Again, this is really a neat area of the country. Remember that.

Another winery, eh?

Yup. This one, the Youngberg vinyard, about 5 mile southeast of McMinnville was a real treat. Normally they only allow tasting of their execellent wines by appointment, but last weekend they had an open house which was great. We each had a glass of Pinot, including Charles our escort.

And the Chairman of the Board, Robert Tillema, contemplates the future of his extensive holdings.

This winery and vinyard was so spectacular in the setting. It was like being on the Mosel or even being in Italy that we are familiar with. Really friendly owners, super wine, and spectacular setting ... wow!

And on the way we went by a field of Alpacas which had to be the biggest herd (flock, group, bunch, pod, whatever) of these things we had ever seen. Let's see ... how many sweaters do we have here ... ?

The holiday season is here and we hope everybody had a super Thanksgiving!

We had a really nice turkey dinner with all the fixins at the McMinamins Hotel on the main street in McMinnville. They have done a magnificent job of restoring this old building and it really adds to the downtown.

A bit of sad news according to the Gardners in Washington is that the ferry that we took from their place over to Port Townsend has been taken out of service due to too much stress on the old ship ... I guess the Flying Scotsman took its toll ... pun intended. While the ship was old, the bad part is that it will be a while before the state decides what to do to replace the ferry system ... really disrupting the flow of traffic to Whidbey and other islands.

Here's a picture of the RV in the really nice park where we are today.

The Tillemas' moving van finally arrived at their new house here in McMinnville. It's interesting that we were in Germany to see them packed up and now we are here to see that the wine is unpacked correctly.

Here's Jo-Anne helping Julie check off the stuff as it comes in the house.

Actually that was staged as we were more of a nuisance so we tried to stay more out of the way of the shippers and the homeowners as much as we could. Later over a couple of housewarming gifts we made a toast to the new home. Well, yes, now that you have noticed, that is Irish whiskey as Bob has some Irish in his heritage ... we had Scotch later ... as we both respect other cultures.

Between moving and a host of other things, Bob and Julie took us up to Portland, which is a really neat city. This view of the riverfront and Interstate 5 is kind of dark, but the restaurant we ate at is in the center where the yacht is parked.

The restaurant is actually floating and would move up and down with the waves ... a bit unsettling. But the food was outstanding and the view below of the Portland skyline out our window was beautiful.

After a walking tour of the center of town, we elected to take the free light rail system back to our car near the marina. Well, several miles later we were well on our way to Seattle but with close scrutiny of the rail map ... probably should have done it earlier ... we were able to make it back to the car.

OK, if you can't be outdoors for pictures then you are forced indoors to drink wine and tase good food. This was yesterday at one of the many local wineries as we are sampling some squash soup, blue cheese filled dates, and some of the best bordeaux around.

On Thursday we had to get the Flying Scotsman over to the Ford dealer for a routine oil change and lube job and for a recall for a potential battery indicator problem. As this is our house, it takes some coordination to deposit pets and find a place to hang out while the bus is in the shop all day. You also have to unhook all the pipes and wires and let the park know you'll be back. Jo-Anne then followed me over to the dealer and picked me up.

Fortunately the Tillemas allowed us to deposit the beasties at their place for the day and as there is always wine tasting to do, the four humans spent the day in the vineyards. The Ford service department was excellent and got the RV up and running for another 3,000 or so miles. As we were unattached, we took the opportunity to swing by the local RV dealer and fill up with propane so we didn't have to do it in a week or so. We've been running the furnace every day so the propane gets used up a bit. For the month of October it cost about $36 for the whole month, but this last two weeks here cost us $36 because it has been consistently cooler. Again, we are on an electric meter for the power so we'll see what that costs at the end of the month. Today was 54 and a pretty steady rain all day, sometimes hard.

Unfortunately the last couple of days have been quite rainy and dark for too many pics.

We did have a mission for my father and spent a day going down to the vicinity of Junction City, Oregon, to find a small park along highway 99W so this picture is for him, but a little explanation might be in order for anyone else who’s interested. Junction City is about 80 miles south of McMinnville, but a quick trip down Interstate 5.

In 1929, my father, his parents and his brother took an awesome and challenging auto trip from the Grandville, Michigan area and came to the west coast over a period of 30 days and then went back home; where I get the wanderlust, eh. My grandmother kept a diary of the trip and wrote that they camped at this park, now called the "Washburne Wayside State Park."

We did find the park which is about 4 miles north of Junction City on highway 99W on the northeastern side of the road. This used to be US 99 from the early part of the 1900s and is similar in age and cult status to the more famous US 66.

There probably wasn't a porta-potty then.

This particular park was on what was known as the Applegate Trail. In 1846 John Applegate from Dallas, Oregon, near here, blazed a trail south of here for 500 miles and hooked up with the California Trail where settlers were coming from the East. In about 4 months he and a few others then made the trail navigable for wagons and this really expanded the local Willamette Valley settlement. This was an alternative route to putting the wagons on the “treacherous” Columbia River. So this little wayside park has been here for more than 150 years.

Last weekend we went with the Tillemas to the coast. It was about a 50 mile drive from McMinnville over to Lincoln City on the coast. But on the way we decided to stop in the hamlet of Otis which is just a couple of miles from Lincoln City for a late breakfast or rather brunch. I haven't looked it up, but Otis can't have more than 200 folks, if that. In the picture here is the Otis cafe with 8 tables, right next to the Otis post office. This is another one of those places that you might miss, but after a 20 minute wait in line, we were rewarded with a super home cooked breakfast that you just can't get at any of the national chains.

We then arrived on the coast and the Pacific was awesome. Here's a bit of the coastline showing the terrain and the beach. Even though the beach looks pretty inviting, the 50 degree water and the surf would make you have to have a wet suit at the least. The waves were about 3 to 5 feet and pretty active. We had a storm the night before and I think that accounted for the wave action.

After walking out the pier in Lincoln City and then along the beach we came across this crab fisherman and some neat driftwood along the harbor. Just beyond the land in the pic is the Pacific. While you can't see it here, across the bit of water on the next piece of land were many seals and/or sea lions. There were some sea otters playing in the surf just off shore.

Night before last we had a pretty good storm which rocked the RV a bit, but it wasn't enough to make us pull the slides in ... maybe 25-35 miles an hour. Today it was really beautiful at around 60 degrees and almost no wind.

This area of Oregon has more wineries than we have seen in a while. Some of the views and products rival those of Germany or Italy. A real plus here, and the reason the Tillemas are settling here, is that the real estate prices are particularly low, coupled with the fact that Oregon has no income tax for retirees and there is no sales tax ... pretty good combination. McMinnville is a community of about 30,000 and very similar to New Braunfels, Texas. Nice small town feel and a really viable downtown with a bunch of shops and restaurants we are slowly sampling ... neat place.


Over the last weekend, our daughter Leighanne and her husband Brooks took a break from their very successful wedding photography business in Dallas to pop over to this area and see the ol' folks. Here's Brooks and Leigh and us in the sunset at one of the local wineries.

In the next picture, if we were in China, Brooks would be saying, "What kind of sauce would go good with this one?" However, we're here at the vinyard with little Kenny, the mascot of the Tillemas and he isn't on the menu tonight.

Right now though it's a pretty steady rain and 52 degrees

I know it has been a while since the last transmission, but when you are having fun it is hard to sit a bit a talk about the adventure. And this time I can't say anything bad about the park and the computer, telephone, or dish set up. This is the Olde Stone RV park on highway 18 just to the east of McMinnville, Oregon. Yup, this is camping Dad ...

We've paid the rent for a month here in this wonderful park and it is beyond our expectations.

Literally on the property next to the RV park is the Evergreen Aviation Museum, now the home of the Spruce Goose of Howard Hughes fame. It was moved here about 10 years ago from Long Beach and the facility and surroundings are absolutely first rate. I mean, this museum has its own vinyard and wine tasting ... what pilot couldn't resist. The Goose sits in the building to the left here.

There are dozens of vintage aircraft including some helicopters here but the main attraction is this huge aircraft which is still larger than anything flying today and made out of wood ... awesome. It was very difficult if not impossible to get pictures because the thing is so big. It is fortunate for all of us that someone had the money and passion to preserve this piece of aviation history.

After a break we were off to wine tasting; one has to toast Howard Hughes for his aviation contributions you know. The Willamette Valley is a fairly recent but very viable wine growing region and there are hundreds of small vinyards ready to offer free samples of thier wares with scenery to boot. Take a look at this! Flashback to Italy. It is 62 degrees out today and gorgeous.

Here's Bob and Julie Tillema, our hosts for this segment of the trip. They are recently retired from the Air Force and are redoing an old house in McMinnville as their future home.


Bob and I have served both in the States and Germany together and you might have seen pictures of the two of us on the Rhein river earlier this summer in previous blogs. Boy that sunlight really softens up the crags, eh?

Prosst or a votre sante ... here's to the water of life!